Chris Harrison blogs the 'Bachelor in Paradise' season finale

Welcome back, Bachelor Nation! As always, it’s been one of the most dramatic seasons in Bachelor in Paradise history, and the only way we could cap it off was with one of the most dramatic finales of all time. We’ve never done a full “tell all” in the studio after a season before, but I really loved it. On top of finally getting to have Corinne and Demario sit down with each other, it was such a great time to have the whole gang back together. I loved getting to sit down and hear from everyone what has gone on over the last two months since filming ended. Apparently, it’s a lot!

Before we got into that, we had to see how all of our couples would shake out down in Mexico. I think most of us knew that while Jasmine and Jonathon liked each other, they weren’t going to try and make a long distance relationship last, and while Jack and Christen had obviously shared a few nice moments, it was time for her to return to the sea. I must say that Christen’s exit may in fact have been the most dramatic of all time. She literally walked into the ocean. I’ve never seen that before in my entire life. And I’ve seen a lot.

Photo: ABC

The break-ups that seems to hit the hardest on last day were Dean and Danielle’s and Robby and Amanda’s. I think Danielle could tell that things with Dean were off, but I don’t think she expected Dean to pretty much acknowledge that he had retroactively fallen in love with Kristina. Robby seemed more shocked than anyone. I don’t think he expected Amanda to say goodbye and frankly, I don’t think any of us did either. I guess she did take the lessons of last year to heart, and even though Robby didn’t do anything wrong, she just thought better than to try and take Robby home to try and make something really serious work.

So that left us with Raven and Adam, Derek and Taylor, and Daniel and Lacey to head to the overnight suites, and from the sounds of it, they all went pretty well, except for Daniel and Lacey. Before we dive into that, I think some of the guys had to really walk through the gauntlet and I’m thankful that they did. Here’s looking at you, Diggy!

I really think Dean learned a lot from this experience. At first I was confused by what Dean was trying to get across, but I think what he was trying to convey was that he thought he could act however he wanted as long as he was honest with all people concerned in the moment. In some ways, Dean was honest with each woman with how he felt about them, but he made the mistake of not really being honest with each woman about how he felt about the other woman. This is where feelings can really get hurt. And I think it’s pretty clear that Danielle and Kristina both ended up pretty hurt by Dean’s actions. Dean was obviously hurt by his own actions as well, and I dare to say he won’t be making these same mistakes again. Kristina seemed to imply that the road to forgiveness was through actions, and now I look forward to seeing where these two wind up.

Amanda was pretty clear that things with Robby did not go according to her expectations. As we all saw she was very sad when she said goodbye to him, but when they got back to America, there relationship began anew. That’s where the trouble started, it seems. In some ways, both Amanda and Robby would probably have been better off if they had just left their relationship in that bittersweet fashion in Paradise, but back in California, things got tricky. We’ll never know exactly what happened between them, but I think we can feel confident that that door is permanently closed. I’m sorry Amanda didn’t have better luck with finding her forever the second time around but I’m glad she gave it a shot and got to leave some parts of her past behind.

Photo: ABC

I don’t even know what to make of Daniel and Lacey. They seem to really not be on the same page about literally anything. It’s so bizarre because they bicker like a couple that’s been together for 30 years, but it’s also clear that Daniel never took their relationship beyond Paradise very seriously at all. The Canadian Eagle has been returned to the North, and Lacey is back in New York.

But onto happy news, Raven and Adam had a pretty steady course through Paradise, and from all accounts, that has continued since that last day in Mexico. They’ve traveled around the US together and visited each others’ hometowns. They’re taking it slow but they’re in love and that is exactly what Paradise is all about. Raven bringing out her parents to meet Adam was a wonderful moment and we were so glad to make it happen. I wish them both the best of luck and I hope we hear good news from them in the future!

And finally, Derek and Taylor. Who could have ever seen it coming? Two people who went home on 2-on-1 dates on their seasons came back for a second chance at love and found each other. It was one of the most romantic proposals I’ve seen in a long time. Derek was shaking and Taylor at first looked like she didn’t know what was happening at all. But it was the perfect end to the season. We wish them all our love, and hope to be planning another wedding soon!

The next time we see you will be in January 2018, when we premiere the new season with our new Bachelor, Arie. We know you’re going to love him as much as we do, and we will miss you every Monday until then! Thank you, Bachelor Nation for sticking by us all season long, and thank you to the cast of this wonderful show. We couldn’t have done it without you.